A Lesson in Acting
by Cold-Wings
Summary: [ RyoSaku ] Seigaku's yearly school festival is here and Ryoma is forced to be more than just a prince of tennis when he's asked to replace a classmate in their class play. Can he survive? Or will this play be the end of him?
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer: All names, likenesses, etc are copyright of their respective owners.

**A Lesson in Acting: Chapter 1**

Ryoma glanced lazily out the window and yawned. The last days of summer were drawing near and it would soon be September. He felt tired, despite the hustle and bustle about the classroom. The school festival was a week and a half away, and his class was busy working and rehearsing for their production of Sleeping Beauty; rather, the boys were working and the girls were barking orders. He had already done his part for the time being as he had no lines to rehearse for he was just a member of the court, and sat at his desk waiting for the lunch bell to ring. _Five more minutes. _He thought, turning his amber eyes to the clock. _Then I can take my well deserved nap_.

"Ryuzaki chan!" A voice sang across the classroom. "Your dress is ready. Come try it on!"

Ryoma's ears perked up a bit at the sound of Ryuzaki's name. Sakuno stood near the front of the classroom, a genuinely confused look on her face. _Right. She's the lead. How that happened I still don't know. _He thought, stealing another glance at the clock_. She's clumsy, timid, her hair is too long, and does she always look like that whenever anyone calls her name?_

"My dress?" The pigtailed girl asked. "But shouldn't we wait? It's almost lunch time."

The president of the Handicraft Club had a glint in her eye. "Oh nonsense. We have to see how our princess looks in her gown sooner or later. Besides, the sooner you try it on, the sooner we can make alterations if needed. Come here." She said, pulling Sakuno by the arm behind a makeshift changing screen in the corner, two other girls from the club in tow. "And no peeking!" She shouted at the boys who were curious enough to be paying attention.

The lunch bell rang not a moment later, sending a flurry of students piling into the hallway. Ryoma got up from his seat and headed toward the door, looking forward to his nap on the roof. He spared a glance at the "changing room" in the corner before leaving, a series of muffled squeaks emitting from behind it. Why girls enjoyed dressing each other up he would never understand. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he filed into the hallway with the rest of the crowd.

"You look so cute Ryuzaki-chan!" Nakagawa gushed. "Doesn't she?" The other girls nodded approvingly. "Hmm, something doesn't look quite right though." She mused, looking at the girl. "Aha! Your hair!"

"My hair?" Sakuno inquired, a tint of pink on her cheeks. "What's wrong with it?"

"Those braids have to go." Nakagawa stated simply, reaching for the bottom of Sakuno's pigtails and pulling off the hair ties before the girl could protest. "You always have your hair in them. Why not let your hair down for a change?"

Sakuno didn't have a good answer for that question. Her pigtails were like a part of her so she never really paid them any mind. "I don't know. I guess I got used to them?"

"You have such beautiful long hair Ryuzaki-chan. It's a shame to keep it pulled into these pigtails all the time." The girl smiled, unraveling one of Sakuno's braids.

_Beautiful long hair?_ Sakuno thought. _Ryoma-kun always tells me my hair is too long, but I guess having my hair down is ok. The day is half over so if I don't like it I can braid it again tomorrow._ She reasoned, letting her fingers unravel her other braid.

"Much better. Now you look even cuter!" Nakagawa beamed. "There's one last finishing touch though. Here." She said, reaching for a small, glittering tiara and placed it on Sakuno's head. "Perfect!"

Sakuno reached for the small mirror she had tucked in her uniform pocket lying on a spare desk and looked at her reflection. She had to admit, it complimented the outfit well. As she opened her mouth to ask if she could change back to her school uniform, Nakagawa grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out from behind the screen. "We have to show everyone else so they'll be excited for the show!" Sakuno stumbled at the sudden tug of her hand and felt her face flush five shades of pink as she stood at the front of her class, now with everyone staring at her, clad in an off the shoulder crimson ball gown. The long sleeved gown hugged her tiny frame gently; an off-white panel trimmed in gold ran down the front of the dress and into the very full skirt, giving it the illusion of an off-white skirt with a red overskirt. Nervously, she scanned the small crowd of students in the room and heaved a silent sigh of relief when she saw that Ryoma wasn't present.

"KYAAAAAA! Sakuno you look so cute!" Came her friend's cry from the doorway, shattering the hush that had befallen the classroom. Osakada Tomoka marched over, a devious look in her eye. "Wait till Ryoma-sama sees you in that! If he doesn't notice you, then as president of his fan club I'll…"

"T-Tomo-chan…" Sakuno meekly protested.

"Let's go show him right now!" Tomo said, scanning the room for the boy. "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure, he left when I was changing so…"

"I'll go find him! Sakuno, stay here and don't change till I come back with Ryoma-sama." Tomo demanded.

Sakuno furiously shook her head. "I-I'd rather it be a surprise. It's okay. You don't have to go find him."

Tomo brushed her friend off. "Sakuno, I swear you are too shy sometimes. Plus, your hair is down and I know Ryoma-sama has never seen that. That'll teach him to say your hair is too long. Stay here, I'll be back."

Sakuno admitted defeat and watched her loud-mouth friend bound out of the classroom. It was pointless to argue with her sometimes. As if to take her mind off of the events that just occurred, her stomach growled. _Right, I haven't eaten yet_. She thought.

Nakagawa giggled. "You can go eat now Ryuzaki-chan."

"But, shouldn't I change? What if I get the dress dirty?"

"By the time we change you out of that, lunch time will be over. Just be careful." She cautioned. "Besides," She said, lowering her voice, "I don't think the guys mind seeing you in that at all."

Sakuno flushed yet another shade of pink and gave a small bow and walked over to her desk near the door. As she was about to take her lunch box out of her desk, a voice behind her made her turn around. "Oh? Sakuno-chan is that you?"

Sakuno looked up and met the gaze of Seigaku's smiling tennis prodigy. "Fuji-senpai!" She bowed, surprised to see him. "Hello."

"So it is you." He smiled. "You look like a princess."

Sakuno nodded. "Well, our class is performing Sleeping Beauty and they chose me for the princess so I had to try on my costume to make sure it fit."

"Ahh, I see. Have you seen Echizen? I need to talk to him about something."

"He left when I was changing so I didn't see where he went." She replied.

"Oh? That's too bad. I suppose it can wait." Fuji said. "Say, Sakuno-Chan, you know how to cook right?"

"Well, yes, but I don't know how good I am at it. Everyone tells me I am, but Ryoma-kun told me 'mada mada da ne' when I made him lunch once." She played with the sleeve on her dress.

Fuji laughed. "My class is having a takoyaki stand at the school festival and they can't seem to get the recipe right. Personally, I think they're quite good, but the rest of the class seems to think otherwise. Maybe you could come taste them and see what they're missing?"

"Eh? Right now?" Sakuno's brown eyes widened.

Fuji nodded. "They should have a new batch done by now."

"But, I'm not allowed on the upperclassmen's floor. Won't I get in trouble for going up there?"

"Not if you're with me." He smiled. "Well then, shall we go?"

Sakuno flushed. "But, I'm still wearing my ball gown. I should change."

Fuji stopped her. "You don't have to do that. It's school festival time after all. Besides, you look very cute in that with your hair down. You should wear it like that more often." He touched her hair gently, letting it slip between his fingers. "Let's go, Princess."

Unable to say no to her senpai's request, Sakuno followed him out the door, her face beet red, oblivious to all the jealous glares she received from her fellow female classmates. _I'm sorry Tomo-chan, but you'll just have to wait_. She thought.

* * *

"Oi! Echizen!" A voice rang out through the crowded hallway. Ryoma flinched, silently cursing himself for not walking faster. Now he would have less time to sleep.

"What is it, Momo-senpai?"

"Come eat with us. We're all sitting over there." The tall boy jerked his thumb backwards, indicating a table where Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo were sitting. Ryoma opened his mouth to reply when Momo cut him short. "Hey, there's Fuji-senpai." His eyes grew wide. "And he's got a cute girl with him too. Eh? Is that Ryuzaki?"

Ryoma's head spun around and looked at the girl walking with his smiling teammate. She was wearing deep red gown and her hair cascaded down her back like a chocolate waterfall. He swallowed hard. "Her hair is too long." He stated simply. "It's Ryuzaki."

"What's going on?" Horio interjected.

"Echizen is checking out Ryuzaki." Momo teased, grinning. "She looks just like a princess."

"Ryuzaki-san?" Horio looked at Momo quizzically, following his gaze. "Oh! It is her. Yeah, our class is performing Sleeping Beauty for the school festival and she got the part of the princess."

"Uwaahhh she looks so different!" Kachiro replied, watching the pair head up the stairs. "Don't you think so Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma's eyebrow twitched. "I guess so." He started walking.

"Oi Echizen!" Horio bellowed. "Where are you going?"

"The roof."

"Oh? You're not going to chase after her?" Momo smirked. "Who knows where he's taking her. Poor little Princess Ryuzaki trapped in the evil, sadistic clutches of Fuji-senpai. Or, maybe they're going to rehearse the kissing scene."

Ryoma clenched his fist and closed his eyes. "Mada mada da ne." He said, taking off for the stairs.

Momo waited till he was out of sight then burst out laughing. "I think you made him mad Momo-chan-senpai." Katsuo said with concern on his face.

Horio nodded. "My two years of tennis experience says that he is most definitely annoyed by what Momo-chan-senpai said."

Momo caught his breath and stared at the staircase. "Hmmm maybe. I seem to have hit a nerve."

* * *

Sakuno tried to hide behind Fuji as best as she could while they walked down the busy hallway to his classroom. As they walked through the doorway, the class took notice of her immediately. "Whoa Fuji, why didn't you tell us you had such a cute girlfriend?" A tall boy asked, his friends nodding in agreement.

"I…um…I'm not…" Sakuno protested meekly.

"Fuji!" Kikumaru sang, bounding over. "You have a girlfriend? You should have told us!"

Fuji smiled. "Not quite. You should know her quite well though."

"Huh?" The acrobat questioned, cocking his head sideways. His eyes widened when he took a good look at the girl. "Ryuzaki-chan?"

Sakuno nodded. "Hello Kikumaru-senpai."

"You look so different with your hair down. I didn't recognize you right away." He said, turning to his classmates. "Oishi, Tezuka, Inui, Taka-san! Ryuzaki-chan is here!"

Sakuno walked over and greeted the boys. "Hello everyone."

"So, what brings you to our classroom today?" Oishi asked.

"Fuji-senpai said you're having trouble with your takoyaki and he asked me to come taste it and see if I can figure out what's wrong." She replied.

"I see." Oishi nodded. "I don't know what recipe they're using but they're overly spicy and undercooked to boot. I hope you can figure out how to fix it."

"I'll bet they taste great with my newest creation, _Kurozu._" Inui chimed in, looking up from his notebook, reaching for a small glass beaker on the desk next to him. "Would you like to try some Ryuzaki?"

Sakuno blanched. She knew the dangers of anything Inui put into liquid form and didn't want to risk her health so close to the school festival. "N-No thank you Inui-senpai." The tar-like liquid gurgled as if in protest.

"That's too bad." The data man said, going back to scribbling furiously in his notebook.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Kikumaru blurted.

"Eiji!" Oishi chastised. "Don't be rude."

Kikumaru frowned. "But I want to know!"

Sakuno giggled. "It's my costume for the school festival. My class is performing Sleeping Beauty and they cast me as the princess." She replied, a hint of pink staining her cheeks again. "I should get to work on the takoyaki now before we run out of time."

"Here." Fuji said, handing her a spare apron. "We can't have you getting that dirty now can we?"

"Thank you Fuji-senpai." She bowed, following him to the makeshift kitchen they had set up in the room.

* * *

Ryoma stared at the sky and grunted. _Damn that Momo-senpai_. He thought. _What does he care what I think of Ryuzaki?_ He flopped on the ground and put his head on his bag. _This festival is too troublesome. I'll be glad when it's over. What was she doing with Fuji-senpai anyway?_ Ryoma closed his eyes and began to doze off. He was about to fall asleep when the door to the roof burst open.

"There he is!" A voice said. "Echizen-kun!"

Ryoma cursed inwardly and lazily opened his eyes to see who disturbed his nap. Surprised to find it wasn't the Freshmen Trio or that wailing banshee Osakada, he sat up. "Huh? What is it?"

His classmates Shirota and Saitou walked over and sat down. "We have a favor to ask of you." Shirota said.

Ryoma's jaw tightened. This didn't sound good. "What is this favor?"

"Well, we've had a problem come up with the play and we need your help. Saitou's grandmother was admitted into the hospital and his family has to fly out to Okinawa so he won't be able to play the part of the prince."

"Sorry about all this Echizen-kun," Saitou added, "but her health has been failing and we honestly don't know how much longer she has. Would you be able to take my place? You and Takemoto-kun are the only guys who don't have any speaking parts and well, I would rather not ask him."

Ryoma had to agree. Takemoto Hiroki was the class weirdo. He barely talked to anyone, had poor hygiene, and there were rumors of him taking multiple pictures of the girls in class without their consent. If tennis wasn't enough to worry about, they now expected him to learn a play in a week and a half. It would be more work for him, but family emergencies were family emergencies. Ryoma sighed. "I guess it can't be helped then."

"Unless of course, you don't want to do it." Saitou said, sensing some reluctance in the boy's voice.

Ryoma stared at him. The thought of Takemoto _touching_ anyone, much less acting as their prince was appalling to anyone. "No. I'll do it."

The boys grinned. "Thank you so much Echizen-kun." Shirota exclaimed.

"We'll go let Ryuzaki-san know she has a new prince to practice with." Saitou said, the two boys taking off for the stairs.

Ryoma watched the door click shut and entwined his fingers in his locks in realization. "Right. She's the princess." He mused aloud. If Momo didn't have the fuel to make fun of him already, he certainly had it now. Which also meant it wouldn't be much longer before the rest of his team knew. The ten minute warning bell rang. _So much for my nap._ He thought, grabbing his bag and trudging downstairs.

* * *

Downstairs, Sakuno popped a takoyaki ball into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Within seconds, her nose started to run and she clamped her hand over her mouth. "What's wrong Sakuno-chan?" Fuji asked, concerned. 

"W-water!" She managed to squeak out.

Hastily, Fuji grabbed the nearest cup and filled it with water which Sakuno accepted readily. After gulping it down, she turned to the boys and said, "Too spicy."

"I told you!" Fuji's classmate Araki said, smacking his friend Tanabata on the back of the head.

"But why? This recipe has been in my family for years and I know they're not spicy! Fuji likes them!" Tanabata retorted, rubbing his skull.

Kikumaru laughed. "That's because Fuji's weird and likes really spicy things. He even likes that stuff Inui makes."

"Well, it is quite good." Fuji said, his ever present grin on his face. "Save for Aozu of course."

"Um…" Sakuno piped up, interrupting the praise of Fuji's iron stomach. "I think there's a problem with the sauce. May I try one without it?"

Araki and Tanabata stared at the girl. "Sure." They said, handing her a plain one.

Everyone watched with baited breath as Sakuno chewed the dough ball, waiting for her reaction. She smiled. "Delicious."

Araki heaved a sigh of relief. "So it's not the takoyaki itself?"

Sakuno shook her head. "What sauce are you using for them?"

"Just store bought takoyaki sauce I brought from home." Tanabata said, handing her the bottle.

Sakuno scrutinized the label, not seeing anything that would add spice in the ingredients. Curious, she opened the bottle and sniffed it. Her nose wrinkled. "I think someone may have put wasabi in here."

"Wasabi?" Kawamura asked. "May I smell it?" Sakuno passed the bottle to the sushi apprentice and watched him take a whiff. "There's definitely wasabi in there." He said, returning the bottle.

Tanabata shook his head. "I bet it was that stupid older brother of mine. He's always doing things like that." He sighed. "Well, at least it wasn't a major problem. I'll buy some untainted sauce after school today. Thanks for figuring out what was wrong Ryuzaki-san. I should have noticed it."

Sakuno bowed. "No trouble at all." The ten minute warning bell rang. "Oh, there's the bell. I should get back to my class."

"I'll walk you back." Fuji offered.

"Bye Ryuzaki-chan!" Kikumaru waved. "Say hi to Ochibi for me!"

Sakuno nodded and bowed, waving bye to everyone as she followed Fuji back to her classroom.

* * *

Ryoma ambled through the hallway, trying to avoid any unwanted attention from his teammates. Fortunately, he managed to avoid another onslaught of harassment from Momoshiro, but his luck ran out when he saw Fuji standing outside his classroom door talking with Ryuzaki. Fuji turned when he neared. "Oh, Echizen."

"Fuji-senpai." He stated, nodding his head slightly. "What brings you here?"

Fuji laughed. "I had to borrow Sakuno-chan and her cooking skills for a little while. My class was having a bit of trouble with their takoyaki. I was just leaving though. I'll see you two later."

"Wait, Fuji-senpai. Didn't you have something to talk to Ryoma-kun about?" Sakuno asked.

"Huh?" Ryoma questioned, looking at Sakuno.

"It seems to have slipped my mind." Fuji smiled, turning to walk back to his floor. "See you at practice Echizen."

"Ahh." Ryoma said, stealing a glance at the gown-clad Sakuno before heading inside.

She felt her face make an attempt to color coordinate with her dress as his cat-like eyes fell on her briefly, her heart thudding in her chest. _Why couldn't he have come back five minutes later? _She thought_. I could have been behind the changing screen then. At least Tomo-chan isn't around_. She loved her best friend dearly, but there were times when she was glad the gregarious girl was nowhere to be found; especially when it came to Ryoma-kun. A voice calling her name brought her out of her reverie. "Ryuzaki-san!"

"Shirota-kun, Saitou-kun, is something wrong?"

"Yes and no." Shirota explained. "You see, there's been a slight change of plans."

Fuji wasn't one to eavesdrop on trivial matters such as school festival talk between underclassmen, but the two boys rushing over to Sakuno had piqued his curiosity. While he couldn't hear everything, he heard enough to have a general idea. His suspicions were confirmed when Sakuno cried out. "EH! Ryoma-kun is playing the prince now?"

He had heard enough. _Things are going to be interesting from now on._ He thought, his eyes opening briefly. _Quite interesting_.


	2. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer: Everything copyright of their respective owners yadda yadda.

AN: Any reference I make to Sleeping Beauty in here is going to be based on the Disney version since that's the version I'm most familiar with.

**A Lesson in Acting: Chapter 2**

Pok

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Ryoma thought.

Pok

_First, Fuji-senpai walks off with Ryuzaki to his own floor and I get harassed by Momo-senpai._

Pok

_Then I'm asked to fill one of the lead roles in the play._

Pok

_Finally, I run into Ryuzaki and Fuji-senpai chatting casually outside my classroom door._

Pok

_Since when did they become such good friends? _

Pok

_And she had to be dressed like that didn't she? _

Pok

_Kachiro was right. She did look different. And that dress…_

Pok

_It was so… her. The color, the style, the girliness, and the way her hair fell down her back. I never thought I'd see her hair out of those ridiculous pigtails._

Pok

_They had to account for why she was so clumsy. All that extra weight on either side of her head would throw anyone off balance, but her hair didn't seem so bad when it was out of them. It was almost…pretty._

Ryoma stopped in his tracks as the ball he was pounding his frustrations out on whizzed past his ear. Did he just think of Ryuzaki as pretty? The boy shook his head. Today's turn of events were messing with his mind. Although, he couldn't deny that things were only going to get more complicated. After all, he did have to pretend to be Ryuzaki's prince, which meant rehearsals, which in turn meant spending lots of time with her. He only hoped her acting was better than her tennis skills. Then there was the nature of the play itself. Why did his class have to pick a fairy tale? Couldn't they have picked something less cute? They all ended the same way too; the prince kisses the princess. Although the kiss in Sleeping Beauty was to wake the princess from her slumber, a kiss was a kiss. Couldn't he just shake her awake? He sighed. It really was all too troublesome, but it was just acting right? It wasn't like it was real. So what if his first kiss happened to be from an "unconscious" girl that came to cheer him on at all his tennis matches. It could be worse; he could have to kiss her friend Osaka or whatever her name was. He shuddered inwardly. _I'd rather kiss Horio._ He thought.

"Something wrong Echizen? You seem troubled." Ryoma spun around and locked eyes with the smiling prodigy; Ryoma's errant tennis ball gripped in his left hand.

* * *

"Oi Sakuno, where were you when I came back after looking for Ryoma-sama?"

"I'm sorry Tomo-chan but Fuji-senpai asked for my help with cooking and I couldn't refuse." Sakuno replied as the two girls walked to the school gate.

"You went up to the upperclassmen's floor in your dress?" Tomoka asked incredulously. "That had to of gotten a rise out of a few of them."

Sakuno felt her cheeks tint pink. "I-I don't know about that. I just went to help with their takoyaki recipe." She played with the bow on her uniform, opting not to tell her friend two of his classmates thought she was Fuji-senpai's girlfriend.

Her friend shook her head. "Sakuno you give yourself no credit. You're pretty! Stop being so modest all the time. How do you expect Ryoma-sama to notice you if you act like that all the time?"

"But I…"

"Just wait till the school festival! When Ryoma-sama sees you in your princess costume he'll regret not trying out for the part of the prince. Of course Saitou-kun isn't that bad looking, but I'll fight him with everything I've got! I swear it on my role as Maleficent!" She clenched her fist. "Sakuno's first kiss belongs to Ryoma-sama!"

Sakuno opened her mouth to interject, but it was hard interrupting Tomoka when she was in one of her tirades. When she finally quieted down, she replied, "Saitou-kun can't be in the play anymore. He has a family emergency and has to fly to Okinawa, so they had to find someone to take his place."

Tomoka stopped and stared at her best friend. "Who did they find?" She rattled off the names of the boys in her class, waiting for a reaction out of Sakuno. "Don't tell me Horio is the prince. Oh Sakuno dear I'm so sorry."

Sakuno shook her head. "No, it's not Horio-kun. Shirota-kun said they needed someone that didn't have any lines and the only two that didn't were Takemoto-kun and Ryoma-kun so…"

Tomoka's face deadpanned. She knew there was no way they would ask Takemoto to take on the role of the prince. The boy was creepy. "No way…" Sakuno nodded meekly and stared at the ground. "RYOMA-SAMA IS THE PRINCE!"

"Tomo-chan keep your voice down!" Sakuno warned, though she was pretty sure they heard her all the way in Rikkaidai.

"Sakuno, you know what this means don't you?" Tomoka asked; her eyes big as saucers. "This is your big chance! You get to be Ryoma-sama's true love and you get to kiss him! I'm so jealous!"

"But, it's just a play. He's only doing it because he was asked to. He probably won't even kiss me."

"You stop that negativity right now." Tomoka commanded. "Ryoma-sama _will_ kiss you. He has to; otherwise it'll disrupt the plot." She nodded.

"I suppose…"

Tomoka sighed breathily. "I can only imagine what it would be like to kiss Ryoma-sama."

"Well, you get to fight against him when he tries to make it to the tower to wake me?" Sakuno offered.

Tomoka laughed. "Like I'm going to stand in the way of true love. Come on; let's get ice cream to celebrate. My treat. Then, we need to get practicing. I'm not going to let Sakuno's first kiss be ruined because she doesn't know what to do."

Sakuno sighed in defeat. There was no use arguing once Tomoka set her mind to something. "Alright. Let's go Tomo-chan." Sakuno said; the two girls exiting the school grounds.

* * *

"Fuji-senpai." Ryoma acknowledged. "What makes you say that?" 

"This poor tennis ball was taking quite the beating. I was just wondering what it did to you to receive such treatment."

Ryoma pulled his cap lower over his eyes. "Nothing. Just practicing."

"I see. Well, I suppose we all have a lot on our minds lately, especially with the school festival so close. How is your class coming along? It must be hard balancing a play as well as tennis."

Ryoma chose his words carefully. He knew his teammates would find out about his role in the play eventually, but the longer it took for them to find out the better. "Everything is fine. I don't have much to do."

"Well, that's good." Fuji smiled knowingly. "I thought our class was in trouble, but Sakuno-chan came and saved us. We're lucky to know such a talented cook." He stared at his younger teammate. "I'll let you get back to your practice now." He tossed the ball back to Ryoma.

"Senpai." Ryoma said to the retreating form of Fuji.

"What is it?"

"Rally with me. The wall is getting boring."

Fuji chuckled. "Of course."

* * *

"Hey, did you guys hear? Saitou can't be in the play anymore." Kachiro said to Horio and Katsuo, a basket of tennis balls in his hands.

Horio nodded. "Of course we've heard Kachiro. Everyone in the class knows that by now. Looks like you were the last person to know, but my two years of tennis experience tells me that they've already found a replacement for him."

Katsuo stared at his friend, wondering what tennis had to do with any of this, and replied, "Yeah but we don't know who yet. Everyone already has their part and knows their lines already. It'd be unfair to make someone learn a brand new part. Unless they took one of the people who don't have any lines-" He stopped and turned his head, looking at Ryoma and Fuji who were entering one of the practice courts. The other two followed his gaze.

"Hey there's Ryoma-kun." Kachiro said. "He doesn't have any lines right? Do you think they asked him?"

Horio started laughing. "Echizen a prince?" He said between breaths. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Eh? Ochibi's a prince? A prince of what?" A curious voice asked excitedly.

"Kikumaru-senpai!" Horio exclaimed.

"We were just talking about our class play for the school festival." Katsuo explained. "The kid playing our prince had a family emergency and we were just wondering who is going to take his place. We thought it might be Echizen but we're not certain."

Kikumaru grinned. "Oh? So he's that kind of prince. The kind of prince that gets to kiss the princess at the end right?"

"Well, we're doing Sleeping Beauty so yes but…" Kachiro was cut off.

"Prince Ochibi!" Kikumaru yelled across the courts, waving his arm wildly. "Do your best!"

"This will be good data." Inui mumbled, scribbling in his infamous green notebook.

"Inui-senpai?" Horio asked; a confused look on his face. "Where did you come from?"

Inui didn't hear him. He was immersed in his data, mumbling to himself. Kachiro sighed. "Me and my big mouth."

* * *

Ryoma stepped onto the court and took his side of the net. Taking a ball out of his pocket, he prepared to serve. "Prince Ochibi! Do your best!" Kikumaru's cheered from the other side of the court. He tightened his grip on the ball in annoyance and served with a bit more force than for a simple practice rally. Fuji smirked and returned it. The boys continued in silence for awhile, but Ryoma's mind was far from silent. _Don't tell me they know already._ He thought. Why did news travel so fast? Especially news one was trying to keep as quiet as possible. _I haven't told anyone, so how do they know?_ He smacked the ball…hard. So many things were lost on those three, and Ryoma found it hard to believe deductive reasoning wasn't one of them. It was his turn to serve.

Fuji was enjoying himself immensely as he returned Ryoma's serve. He could lie all he wanted, but Fuji knew something was troubling the freshman. He had a fairly good idea of what it was, but decided to test his theory by toying with Ryoma a bit. "Echizen, do you know how to dance?"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Dance? What does that have to do with anything?"

Fuji laughed. "Just something every man should know how to do. You know there's a huge bonfire at the end of the school festival right?"

"I heard about it."

"Well, it's a dance as well. It would be too bad if a pretty girl came and asked you to dance and you were forced to turn her down because you didn't know how."

Ryoma furled his brow as he hit the ball. He half wondered what was going through Fuji's mind, but wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know either. "That would be too bad wouldn't it senpai?"

Fuji smirked. "You're going to have to learn eventually right? Especially with your class play and all. You don't want to step on Sakuno-chan's toes, unless, of course, she doesn't know how to dance either."

Ryuzaki? Dance? The girl had issues with walking. Ryoma snorted. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Ryoma's returns were getting stronger and Fuji's hand was starting to tingle. _Looks like I was right._ He thought. "I see. Then perhaps I should give her a few lessons." He replied.

He knew. Ryoma didn't know how, but Fuji knew. Why else would he be asking such a trivial question on whether or not he could dance? Although he did know how, albeit not very well, Ryuzaki should learn from the person she had to dance with for the performance. At least, that was the excuse Ryoma gave himself. He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Tezuka. "Everyone! Over here!" Letting the ball fly past him, Ryoma and Fuji trotted over to join the rest of their teammates. "Ryuzaki-sensei has something to say."

"Now, as you all know, the school festival is next weekend." The old woman started. "Since I know everyone tends to get distracted around this time, I've decided to cancel morning practices till after the festival." The team murmured excitedly. "Also, since our next tournament isn't for quite some time and some of you have new obligations to fill," She glanced at Ryoma, "afternoon practices will be cut in half. Any questions?"

The team shook their heads. "Thank you Ryuzaki-sensei!"

"Alright then. Practice is over. Anything to add Tezuka?"

"Freshmen, pick up the balls and clean the courts. Everyone else, dismissed!"

* * *

Ryoma finished changing back into his school uniform and slung his tennis bag over his shoulder, glad the day was finally over. "Hey Echizen, you want to grab a burger?" Momo asked. "Eiji-senpai's treat."

"Momo!" The redhead yelled.

Momo laughed. "I'm kidding I'm kidding."

"Not today." Ryoma declined.

"What's wrong Echizen?" Momo asked. "You've been in a bad mood since lunch." He smirked. "Is it girl trouble?"

Ryoma pulled his hat further down his forehead. "Nothing really. I'll see you tomorrow." No sooner had he stepped out of the clubhouse door when Shirota came running over to him.

"Echizen-kun I'm glad I caught you before you went home." He handed him a thin book. "Here's the script for the play. I wanted you to have it as soon as possible so you can start learning your lines. I went ahead and highlighted everything the prince says for you. It's a big part, but luckily he doesn't say a whole lot." He paused. "Oh, I've put Ryuzaki-san's phone number in there too. It might be a good idea to meet with her outside of class and practice together. I think things will be a little less awkward that way. Do you have any questions?"

Ryoma stared at the boy blankly. "No. Thanks."

"Good. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah." Ryoma stared at the retreating form of Shirota then at the script in his hand. He knew he was just doing his job as the play's director, but couldn't it have waited till tomorrow? The boy had no tact, especially considering the company he was in. Ryoma sighed. "You can come out now." He turned the handle on the clubhouse door and his teammates fell into a heap at his feet.

"Echizen's a prince huh? Sleeping Beauty right?" Momo asked deviously, snatching the script out of Ryoma's hand. "Ohoho looks like you get to have your first kiss in front of an audience." He said, reading the script.

Ryoma set his jaw. "Momo-senpai. Give it back."

Momo pretended to be hurt. "Oh? You're that anxious to memorize your lines huh? I didn't know you were so excited about this Echizen. Or could it be that you're just eager to rehearse with Ryuzaki?"

"Shut up. You're annoying." Kaidoh hissed.

Momo immediately forgot about the script and teasing Ryoma. "What was that Kaidoh!"

"I said you're annoying." Ryoma let the two bicker at each other and snatched the script back from Momoshiro.

"Prince Ochibi!" Kikumaru sang, latching on to Ryoma. "We'll all be there to cheer you on, won't we Oishi?"

The vice captain nodded. "If you need any help with your lines don't be afraid to ask. I'll be happy to help you."

Ryoma nodded, looking at the rest of his teammates. Inui was scribbling away, Tezuka was unreadable, Fuji smiled knowingly, and Kawamura scratched the back of his head. "We'll be rooting for you Echizen." The shy boy said.

"Here Taka-san. Your racket."

"BURNING!" Kawamura yelled. "ECHIZEN! YOU WILL BE THE GREATEST PRINCE EVER!"

Ryoma blinked. "That's enough Taka-san." Fuji said, extracting the racket from Kawamura's grip.

Ryoma gritted his teeth, turned on his heel and marched off. "Oi Echizen. Where are you going?" Momo asked, his hand still gripping Kaidoh's shirt collar.

"Home." He stated simply.

The group watched Ryoma leave the courts and head toward the school gate. "Nya, you think we made him mad?" Kikumaru asked; concern on his face.

Fuji laughed. "I wonder…"

* * *

Ryoma entered his house and kicked off his shoes in annoyance. "Hey Ryoma, how about I play you blindfolded and on one leg today?" Nanjiroh asked; a cat-like grin playing on his face.

"I'm going to my room." He replied, heading up the stairs.

"Huh?" Nanjiroh stared at his son's retreating form. "Hey!" He smirked after he heard Ryoma's door close. "Looks like something interesting happened at school today."

Ryoma dropped his bag on the floor and flopped on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Karupin jumped on his chest and meowed, staring quizzically at his owner. Ryoma sighed. "What have I gotten myself into Karupin?"


	3. Chapter 3

SD: I own nothing, lines and song lyrics taken from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Lines slightly altered since horses and singing and dancing animals don't translate well to the stage.

**A Lesson in Acting: Chapter 3**

Ryoma smacked his buzzing alarm clock. "Morning already?" He thought. Rubbing his eyes, he prayed yesterday's events were nothing more than a bad dream. Unfortunately for him, a small blue book poking out of his bag served as a friendly reminder when he begrudgingly rolled out of bed. Frowning, he picked up the script from his bag and began to flip through it, looking for his highlighted lines. _Heh, looks like I really don't have much to say. There's a scene in the woods where I meet the princess for the first time, we dance, sing, and… _ Ryoma's eyes grew wide. "Sing!" Ryoma exclaimed out loud, staring at the page in disbelief. "Since when did this become a musical?" Peeved, he tossed the book back in his bag, changed into his uniform, and trudged downstairs to breakfast.

"Good morning Ryoma-san." His cousin Nanako greeted.

"Morning." Ryoma replied, sitting at the table.

"Here's your breakfast."

"Thanks."

"Ryoma-san, isn't your school festival coming up?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied between mouthfuls. Behind him, Nanjiroh rustled his newspaper, pretending to read it.

"What is your class doing for it? Anything interesting?"

"Sleeping Beauty."

Nanako smiled. "Really? Which part are you playing?"

"I wonder." Ryoma said, standing up. "Well, I'm off.

"Ryoma-san you're so mean!" Nanako pouted, watching him leave the kitchen.

"Ahh youth." Nanjiroh smirked after the front door closed, not looking up from his newspaper. At his feet, Karupin mewed in agreement.

* * *

Ryoma yawned as he walked through Seigaku's gates. Expecting to hear the noise of clubs beginning their morning practices, he found the campus eerily quiet. Halfway to the tennis courts, he stopped. _Right. _ He thought. _The old lady cancelled morning practices till after the festival._ Slightly miffed that he could have slept a bit longer, he headed toward the courts to kill time before morning classes began. The familiar sound of a tennis ball hitting a wall piqued his curiosity.

Walking over, he noticed the rhythm of the hits were irregular; almost spastic. What he saw surprised him. There, in all her pigtailed glory, stood Sakuno; her face screwed up with concentration as she swung her racket at the fuzzy yellow sphere. He smirked, deciding to watch her for a bit.

He couldn't deny that she'd improved. She had learned to bend her knees, her elbows weren't as bent, and her shoulders weren't as open. However, that unsightly wobble hadn't left her hips, which made her form appear far clumsier. He had to admire her tenacity though. She truly did want to learn the game, even if she was a bit slow at it. The sheer fact that she could hit the ball against the wall more than twice was a feat in and of itself.

He watched her rally the ball a bit more, unconsciously nitpicking at the things she needed to improve on, and turned to leave her to her own devices. Not seeing her last shot, Ryoma saw stars instead when something collided with the back of his head. "Ow!" He exclaimed.

_Ow? _ Sakuno thought. Errant tennis balls didn't say "ow". Her eyes widening, she turned around to see who was unfortunate enough to get in the path of her ball. "R-Ryoma-kun?" She stammered, her cheeks flushing. Of all people to hit, especially this early in the morning, it had to be Ryoma. How long had he been standing there anyway? "Are you alright?" She asked, rushing over.

Ryoma looked at her concern ridden face and gave a small laugh. "Nice shot." He said, rubbing the back of his head. It wasn't a lie either. There was some power behind her shot. Maybe she had potential after all.

"I am so sorry!" She apologized. "Let me get ice for it."

"I'm fine." He said. "You're here early."

Sakuno nodded. "I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I thought it would be a good idea to come here and practice my tennis." She said meekly. "You're here early too Ryoma-kun. Grandma told me she cancelled morning practices until after the festival."

"Looks like I forgot." He stated simply, turning to walk away. "See you later."

"Um, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked, a small burst of confidence filling her.

"Hm?"

"Um, have you looked at your lines at all for the play?" She fidgeted with her uniform. "If you want, maybe we could practice them a bit since we're both here and we have awhile before school starts."

Ryoma stared at the girl, slightly confused at her boldness. He knew they were going to have to practice together eventually, and he really hadn't looked at his lines outside of his brief skim that morning. Besides, his teammates weren't around to harass him about it this early in the morning. "That's fine."

Sakuno's eyes widened. "Is that tree over there okay?" She smiled, pointing nearby.

Ryoma nodded. "Let's go."

The duo walked the short distance to the large oak tree and set down their things. Pulling out her script, Sakuno flipped to the page shortly after the time jump. "Um, let's see. The prince doesn't come in till here, when you find me singing alone in the woods." Her face flushed a bit. "We can skip that part though and start from when you find me. Is that okay?"

Ryoma smirked. Watching her get flustered over such a small thing was slightly entertaining. What she said was perfectly fine with him, but he decided to have a little fun with the girl. She did give him a nasty lump on the back of his head after all. "It might be better if you act out the whole thing for me since I just got the part yesterday and I'm unfamiliar with this scene."

Sakuno's face flushed a deeper shade of pink. "T-The whole scene? You mean…?"

"Sing." Ryoma said bluntly. "You're going to have to do it eventually right? No sense in being shy about it. It's just acting."

Sakuno stubbed the dirt with her toe. "Well, yes, but go over there." She said, indicating a nearby tree. "You're not supposed to be in the scene yet." She bit her lip. "You're supposed to sing with me too, but it's ok if you don't right now. You might know the song though." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _You can do this Sakuno. Just because it's Ryoma-kun doesn't make it any different than what you've practiced. _She thought, beginning the scene.

Ryoma shrugged and lazily walked over to the other tree and leaned against it, glancing at the stage directions as Sakuno began to hum. His ears perked up when the singing grew louder. She wasn't as tone deaf as he thought she'd be. _Heh. Who'd of thought Ryuzaki had a voice like that?_ He thought, grinning.

Ryoma followed along in the script, pausing before it was his turn to speak. "What is that?" He read, looking around. "It's beautiful. I think I'll go find out."

Sakuno pretended like she was picking berries and opened her mouth to sing.

_I wonder… _

_I wonder… _

_I wonder why each little bird has a someone _

_to sing to… _

_sweet things to… _

_a gay little lark melody _

_I wonder… _

_I wonder… _

_if my heart keeps singing will my song go winging _

_to someone _

_who'll find me _

_and bring back a love song to me_

Ryoma gaped at the girl as she continued. "Oh dear. Why do they still treat me like a child? They never want me to meet anyone." She giggled. "But you know something? I've fooled them. I have met someone." She walked around the tree dreamily. "Who? A prince. He's tall and handsome and so romantic. We walk together and talk together, and just before we say goodbye he takes me in his arms and then…" She slumped to the ground. "I wake up. Yes, it's only in my dreams, but they say if you dream a dream more than once it's sure to come true. And I've seen him so many times."

Ryoma blinked and focused his eyes back on his script as Sakuno went back to humming. It was his, or rather the prince's time to reflect. "There's something strange about that voice." He said. "It's too beautiful to be real. Maybe it was a mysterious being; a wood sprite or a… there!" It was almost time for him to find the princess. All he had to do was sneak up behind her, grab her hand and….sing. She said he might recognize the song, but what was it? He frowned. His answer came when Sakuno began to sing once more.

_I know you I've walked with you once upon a dream…_

Ryoma mentally slapped himself. That song? It was the same one they used in the movie he saw as a child, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he remembered how it went. He watched her gently sway back and forth as she continued the song. Walking around behind her, he prepared to grab her hand.

_But if I know you I know what you'll do_

_You'll love me at once _

Swallowing hard, reached for her hands and finished the verse for her.

_The way you did once upon a dream_.

Sakuno's eyes doubled in size as she spun around and looked at Ryoma. "I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Sakuno shook her head furiously and tried to pull her hand away from the boy. "No no, it wasn't that. It's just that you're…"

"A stranger?" He finished. Sakuno nodded. "But we've met before. Don't you remember?"

"W-We have?" Sakuno stammered.

"But of course. You said so yourself. Once upon a dream." Ryoma looked at the next line. He had to sing again. He read further. He had to dance too. Biting his tongue he looked up and met the gaze of a concerned Sakuno.

"Is something wrong Ryoma-kun?" She asked. "We can stop if you want, but… but you're doing a good job."

"The scene is almost over. Let's finish it."

"Okay. I'll go stand over here then."

Ryoma sighed softly. Steeling his nerves, he opened his mouth and sang the short verse, chasing Sakuno around the tree before catching her hand in his and pulling her to him. Looking down at her flushed face, he tried to take the lead in something remotely resembling a dance when her clumsiness took over and she wound up stepping on his feet, resulting in them falling to the ground with a thump. Ryoma winced. Not only did his head hurt as well as his butt now, but Sakuno had managed to fall right on top of him. They lay like that for a moment; Sakuno's face buried into Ryoma's chest, her pigtails splayed on either side of her like twin braided ropes, and her tiny hand still clasped in his. "Ryuzaki." Ryoma started. "You're kind of heavy."

Sakuno shook herself out of her daze. She wasn't surprised that she had fallen, but she didn't expect to land on something soft and warm that smelled good too. Brown eyes met amber as she picked her head up and found her cushion staring back at her. It hit her. Gasping, she pushed herself off of Ryoma and into a sitting position, her face beet red. "I-I'm sorry Ryoma-kun I didn't mean to, I mean, it was my fault I should have told you my dancing was…"

"Mada mada da ne." He finished for her, glancing at her sideways.

Sakuno made a noise of begrudging acceptance and tried to make herself even smaller. _Sakuno you idiot. You can't even stand on your own two feet. _She thought, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I just remembered I have some homework to finish." She said, standing abruptly. "We have practice after lunch so I'll see you then Ryoma-kun." She gathered her things as quickly as she could and took off running for the school's main building.

Ryoma stared after the girl and sighed. He never did understand her sometimes. Checking the school's clock, he noted he still had forty five minutes before classes started. _At least I can take a nap_. He thought, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the tree.

* * *

"Okay Echizen-kun, Ryuzaki-san, we're going to go over the scene in the woods where you two meet for the first time." Shirota started. "I know Ryuzaki-san is good with this scene, but have you gone over your lines at all Echizen-kun?"

"A bit." He replied.

"We ran into each other before school this morning and practiced this scene for a little while." Sakuno chimed in.

"Excellent!" Shirota exclaimed, pleased. "I hope you don't mind singing Echizen-kun. We tried to find a way to omit it, but it cut out too much of the scenes so we had to keep it." He smiled apologetically.

So much for small favors. "It's fine. Let's start."

"Right." Shirota said, nodding. "Go ahead you two." He sat back and watched as Ryoma and Sakuno began their scene, his eyes and smile growing wider as he watched the two interact. "Ryuzaki-san!" He exclaimed, stopping them. "This is the best you've ever performed this scene. Your shyness, the blush staining your cheeks, the way you run away from him, it's fantastic!" Sakuno's face grew even redder at his words. He turned to Ryoma. "Echizen-kun, I want you to play off of her. I want to feel like you want her, need her. You're the prince, and the prince always gets what he wants. Okay, let's try it again from the top."

Ryoma stared dumbfounded at the boy. _When did I start working for Spielberg?_ He thought, taking his place. _Make him feel like I want her huh?_ On his cue, he sidled up behind Sakuno and grabbed her hand. Spinning her around, he slipped his arm around her tiny waist and pulled her to him. "I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." He recited his line, caressing her cheek with his free hand.

"Echizen-kun!" Shirota exclaimed. "That was perfect! Keep going, just like that."

Sakuno's eyes widened as Ryoma pulled her to him. Shocked at his actions, she almost forgot her lines before stammering them out. The scene played out with Sakuno winding up once again in Ryoma's arms at the start of the dance portion. Screwing her eyebrows in concentration, she tried hard not to repeat the scene from this morning. Shirota frowned when he saw their difficulty. "Ryuzaki-san, what's wrong? You didn't have trouble when you rehearsed this with Saitou-kun."

"I-I know, but he just kind of twirled me around. I've never really danced before." She stared at the floor.

"Hmm. Echizen-kun," he started, turning to Ryoma, "do you know how to dance at all?"

"A little." He said quietly, glancing off to the side.

"Great! I'm going to need you to teach Ryuzaki-san how to dance. It'll look much better than what we were doing before, and don't forget, you two have to dance later on too."

Ryoma sighed inwardly. Why had he agreed to this again? First, his old man had him teaching the girl tennis and now his classmate was having him teach Wobbly Hips how to dance. Could this girl do nothing for herself? Stepping toward her, he grabbed her hand and placed it on his shoulder. "This hand goes here." He instructed. "The other hand goes here." He held her other hand and encircled his other around her waist. "Now, we're going to take a step to the right like this…" Ryoma slowly guided her through the motions of a basic slow dance, feeling slightly embarrassed as the clumsy girl tried to follow his lead. She had stepped on his foot at least five times already and she kept bumping into him. At least she hadn't fallen on him yet. They continued for a bit longer, with Sakuno slowly getting the hang of the motions. She had only stepped on his foot once since he last counted. Their practice was cut off by the bell signaling the end of the school day.

"Well, it looks like that's it for today. You have practice now, right Echizen-kun?" Shirota asked. Ryoma nodded, letting go of Sakuno. "Good job today, both of you. You're getting the hang of this pretty fast. Ryuzaki-san, you'll need to practice that dancing a bit more."

"Okay." Sakuno nodded.

"Ryuzaki-chan." Nakagawa interrupted, poking her head into the classroom. "We finished the alterations on your peasant girl costume. Could you try it on now?"

Sakuno turned her head and nodded. "I'll be right there." She replied. "Well, I'll see you later Ryoma-kun, Shirota-kun."

"Bye Ryuzaki-san." Shirota said, waving. Turning to Ryoma he said, "You're doing well for only getting the script yesterday. Had I known, I would have cast you as the prince right off the bat. You're a great prince and the way Ryuzaki-san reacts to you is excellent. You two have chemistry. I'd even say it might go outside the acting in this play"

Ryoma scratched the back of his head. Well, he _was_ a fast learner. "I watched the movie a few times when I was younger. I have to get to practice now." He said, quickly changing the subject. "I'll see you later."

Shirota smiled. "Right. Forgive my babbling. I can get carried away sometimes. See you tomorrow Echizen-kun." Ryoma nodded and headed off to practice.

* * *

Sakuno frowned from her position behind one of Seigaku's many buildings. _How did that go? _She thought_. Ryoma-kun said it was a step to the right and then… or was it a step to the left? Stupid Sakuno._ She cursed her memory. _I can't remember._

"You know, that's much more fun with a partner." A familiar voice said behind her.

Jumping, she spun around. "Fuji-senpai!" She placed a hand on her chest. "You scared me."

He smiled. "My fault. Practicing your dancing for the play?"

Sakuno nodded. "Ryoma-kun taught me during practice today, but I'm having a hard time remembering everything."

"Oh?" Fuji asked, curious. "I can help you with that." He added, taking Sakuno's hand in his own. "My older sister was quite the teacher."

Sakuno's face flushed. "I-I don't want to trouble you Fuji-senpai. I'm not very good at it. I fell on Ryoma-kun this morning." She added quietly.

Fuji laughed. "It's no trouble at all. Now, let's see what you remember. The first step is to the right…"

The duo practiced like that for awhile, Sakuno slowly remembering what Ryoma had told her. She still stepped on Fuji's feet a few times, but she felt herself slowly getting better. "See Sakuno-chan? You're doing great." Fuji encouraged.

"You're a good teacher Fuji-senpai." Sakuno replied.

"Echizen will be impressed." He grinned. "Here we go. One more time through."

Not a minute later, a figure appeared near the two. Pulling his hat further over his eyes, he clenched his fist tighter around the strap of his bag. "Fuji-senpai." He said, stepping closer. "What are you doing?"

AN: Thank you everyone who has left reviews and constructive criticism. I really appreciate it. I'll try and have the next chapter out as soon as I can.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryoma walked towards the gate of the school. Momo had wanted to get his regimen of hamburgers in after practice and had asked Ryoma to come with him. Nearing the bike rack where Momo was waiting, he heard two familiar voices emanating from behind a nearby building. "See Sakuno-chan? You're doing great."

"You're a good teacher Fuji-senpai."

_What is Fuji-senpai doing with Ryuzaki?_ He thought, turning to investigate. Sating his curiosity was never much of a priority for him. He usually left things as they were and didn't poke his nose into other people's business, but for some reason he couldn't leave this one alone. _Heh, maybe my teammates are rubbing off on me._ Rounding the corner, he couldn't believe what he saw. There, in dancing in Fuji's arms, was the coach's granddaughter; and she was doing quite well. _Fuji-senpai you didn't…_ He silently cursed. He wasn't sure which bothered him more; the fact that Fuji had his hands all over Ryuzaki or that he had done something he couldn't do only hours earlier; teach the clumsy girl to dance. After a moment's thought, he deduced it was the latter. He never did like it when someone was better at something he was good at. Pulling his hat further over his eyes, he clenched his fist tighter around the strap of his bag. "Fuji-senpai." He said, stepping closer. "What are you doing?"

Spinning her around into a graceful dip, the smiling third year looked up at their intruder. Instinctively, Sakuno tightened her grip around his neck as not to fall. Ryoma frowned. "Echizen." Fuji acknowledged. "I was just helping Sakuno-chan with her dancing for the play." He said innocently, up righting Sakuno.

"Ryoma-kun." Sakuno said. "I couldn't remember everything you taught me earlier so I came back here to practice and Fuji-senpai happened by and offered to help. I think I got it now so I won't step on your toes anymore. I hope…"

Ryoma gritted his teeth. "Well, then I guess I should be thanking you senpai." He said; a tinge of bitterness on his last word. "Ryuzaki, if you needed help you could have just asked."

"I could have? You seemed so busy though and I didn't want to bother you so I came here by myself and…"

"Oi Echizen!" A voice bellowed across the campus. "There you are. I've been waiting for…eh? Fuji-senpai? What are you doing with Ryuzaki-chan?" Momo asked, bewildered.

Fuji laughed, releasing his gentle hold on Sakuno's waist. "Oh, just helping her with her dancing. I'm about to leave though. I have some homework I should be catching up on. Good job today Sakuno-chan." She smiled as he picked up his bag. "And Echizen, good luck with the play." He advanced toward the freshman. "She is your princess after all." He said so only Ryoma could hear. "I'll see everyone tomorrow."

The three underclassmen said their goodbyes to Fuji and Momo turned to Ryoma. "You ready to go now Echizen? I'm starving!" Ryoma nodded. "Ok then. See you tomorrow Ryuzaki-chan!" Momo waved cheerfully.

Sakuno smiled. "See you tomorrow Ryoma-kun, Momo-senpai." Over his shoulder, Ryoma lazily waved goodbye and walked off with Momo.

* * *

"You know," Momo said between bites of food, "I'm a lot more excited for this year's festival. My class was so clueless last year that our booth fell apart on the first day." He laughed. "That won't happen this year. We're winning the competition for sure. Maybe some cute girl will confess her feelings to me at the bonfire. Although I don't think I'd know what to do if that happened." He scratched the back of his head and watched Ryoma half heartedly pick at his food. "What's wrong Echizen? You've been in a bad mood since yesterday. Did something happen? You know you can confide in your senpai right?" He flashed a toothy grin.

"Nothing really." He replied simply, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh?" Momo raised his eyebrows. "It wouldn't have anything to do with Ryuzaki-chan dancing with Fuji-senpai earlier today would it? You know, they seem to be hanging out with each other a lot lately. Maybe he's planning on confessing to her at the end of the festival, or maybe they're already dati-"

"They're not." Ryoma snapped, sounding more annoyed than he intended.

Momo laughed. "With the way you just responded someone might think you're a little jealous."

"It's not like that."

"Of course." Momo said with a smirk. "You're in the same class; of course you'd know something like that." Ryoma huffed.

"Eh? Momoshiro-kun? Echizen-san?" A voice inquired.

The duo turned to see who their visitor was, and were greeted with a familiar face. "Hey! It's Tachibana's little sister." Momo teased.

"I have a name! It's Ann!" She pouted.

"My bad, my bad. What brings you here today?"

"We need supplies for our school festival, so I stopped to grab something to eat on the way."

"Looks like you're having your festival the same time as ours. What does Fudomine have in store for this year?" Momo asked.

Ann giggled. "It's a secret. I wouldn't want Seigaku stealing any ideas from us now would I?"

Momo pouted. "No fair! Fine, I won't tell you what my class is doing either."

"Fine." She stuck her tongue out. "What is your class doing Echizen-san?"

"Just a play." He muttered quietly.

"Don't be so shy Echizen." Momo turned to Ann. "His class is performing Sleeping Beauty and he gets to be the prince; complete with a kiss from Princess Ryuzaki-chan. Isn't that right Echizen?"

Ryoma's eyebrow twitched. He never understood why guys felt the need to be loud and show off in front of girls. "Yeah."

Ann's eyes widened. "Sakuno-chan never mentioned any of this to me. I'm sure she's thrilled. Maybe I'll stop by and see it." She smiled and glanced at her watch. "Oh no I'm late for my date with Kamio-kun!" She exclaimed. "I'll see you later Momoshiro-kun, Echizen-san."

"Date?! I thought you were just going to get supplies!" Momo yelled after her, but she had already left the building. Momo slumped to his seat. "I don't understand girls sometimes."

"You ready to go?" Ryoma asked.

"Yeah. Feel like heading over to the street courts for a bit? I have the urge to smack something."

Ryoma smirked. "Let's go." With that, the duo deposited their trash and headed toward the tennis courts.

* * *

"Sakuno-chan I can't believe you didn't tell me you were the lead in Sleeping Beauty!" Ann's voice rang over Sakuno's cell phone later that night. "_And_ that Echizen-san was the prince!"

"I'm sorry Ann-san. I've been meaning to tell you but I've been so busy. Ryoma-kun just got the part of the prince yesterday so we had a lot to work on."

"Yesterday?" Ann asked. "Isn't your festival in a week and a half?"

"Yes it is." Sakuno replied, telling her the story of Saitou's family emergency and how Ryoma replaced him as the prince.

Ann laughed. "Well I'd say this has worked out in your favor. I'll definitely come see it. I can sneak away from my festival for awhile."

"Thank you. I just hope I do okay."

"You'll do fine. Echizen-san is the one I'm worried about. Well, I have some homework to finish up so I'll talk to you later Sakuno-chan."

"Ok. Talk to you later." Sakuno hung up the phone and leaned back on her bed. Tomo-chan was still her best friend, but it was nice having another girl to talk to every once in awhile. Ever since the three of them helped at the Junior Senbatsu camp, Ann had become good friends with both of them. Sakuno sighed and covered her face with a pillow. _Today was a long day._ She thought. _I really do hope everything goes okay. Fuji-senpai was nice enough to help me with my dancing, but Ryoma-kun seemed mad when he saw us practicing. He said I could have asked him, but every time Ryoma-kun has helped me with something it's because someone asked him to and I didn't want to be a burden on him. He's so confusing._ Sakuno sighed again in frustration. "I'm going to bed." She said to herself; standing up to change into her pajamas and get ready for bed.

* * *

The following afternoon, Shirota called the main cast members over to him for a brief meeting. "Okay. I know this is only you're second day of rehearsal Echizen-kun, but I want to familiarize you with the rest of the cast, so today I want you to work on the scene where you're imprisoned in Maleficent's castle. You only have a line or two, so we're mainly going to go over body language and the fight scene. Osakada-san already knows her lines, so she'll be able to help you out as well."

Tomoka gave a confident laugh. "Leave everything to me Ryoma-sama! You're mine and not Sakuno's." She grinned wickedly. "Ooh I've always wanted to say that."

Ryoma gave a small nod and diverted his eyes away from the girl. _Having to sit here and listen to her voice is imprisonment enough._ He thought.

"Ryuzaki-san, we don't need you right now so if you want to go somewhere and practice your lines or anything like that feel free." Shirota said, turning to Sakuno. "I heard you had an upperclassman help you practice your dancing yesterday after school. That's great! Hopefully he was a good teacher." Sakuno nodded. Ryoma bit his tongue.

"I'll go rehearse my lines then." Sakuno said. "Good luck everyone!"

"Oh, Ryuzaki-san, I almost forgot. Have you and Echizen-kun set any times for practice outside of school yet?" Both of them shook their head. "Well what about today? I know you're both in the tennis club, but most clubs have shortened their practices for the festival. Are you two busy after practice?"

Sakuno felt her ears turning pink. "I-I'm free after practice."

Ryoma sighed inwardly. He knew this was coming eventually. "I'm free too."

"Excellent!" Shirota exclaimed. "Do you two think you can go over the scene in the woods where you first meet again? It's the biggest amount of dialogue between you two and I want it to be good. I know you can do it. Just remember how you did it yesterday Echizen-kun and you'll be fine." Ryoma nodded. "Okay Ryuzaki-san you're free to go." Sakuno gave a small bow and left the classroom.

_Tomo-chan must be thrilled._ Sakuno thought. _She gets to practice with Ryoma-kun today. I know he'll do a good job. _She paused to think. _Now to find a place to practice. The roof should be quiet enough._ She trotted toward the door, flung it open and headed to the roof.

After going over the meeting scene for what felt like the hundredth time, Sakuno closed her script and closed her eyes briefly. _That should do it. I hope Ryoma-kun and Shirota-kun think my acting is okay. I'm not too worried about my scenes in the cottage with the three fairies, but I always get so nervous around Ryoma-kun. We haven't even gotten to the kissing scene yet. I hope I don't screw that up, although all I have to do is lay there. What if he thinks I'm a bad kisser? I've never kissed anyone for real and all I know about it is what I see in the movies and… _ The shrill sound of a bell brought her out of her reverie. _Lunch time already? _She thought, picking up her things and heading back inside the school.

Halfway back to her classroom, she ran into Ryoma. _Right! I don't know where we're practicing after school today._ "Um, Ryoma-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"D-Did you have any place in mind of where you wanted to practice after school today?"

Ryoma thought for a moment. The school grounds were out. His teammates had way too much time on their hands and Kikumaru-senpai and Inui-senpai would be giving everyone lessons in Voyeurism 101. His house was definitely out. The sheer amount of harassment he would receive from his father for just bringing a girl home, much less one he had to pretend to be in love with, would be enough to last a lifetime. "What about your house?" He asked, figuring it would be the safest place from the prying eyes of his teammates and anyone else who seemed to be interested in his business as of late.

Sakuno shook her head. "We're having the house repainted today so there will be workers everywhere. Plus it'll be very noisy."

_So much for small favors._ He thought. "We could go to the park then." As much as he didn't want to practice in public, the park was large enough for them to find a secluded spot where they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Okay." Sakuno agreed, fiddling with the bow on her uniform. "Do you want me to meet you at the boy's courts when practice is over? My practices are shortened too so I think we finish around the same time."

"No." Ryoma said abruptly. "I mean, I'll come get you." The last thing he needed was a tail of busybodies following him.

"O-Okay. I guess I'll see you then."

Ryoma nodded, turning toward the lunchroom.

* * *

Following practice later that afternoon, Ryoma took his time changing back into his school uniform. Under the guise of having some errands to run, he waited till everyone had left the clubhouse and made his way over to the girl's tennis courts.

"Good job Ryuzaki." One of the girls said. "Your form has really improved."

"Thank you senpai." Sakuno replied. _It's because of Ryoma-kun's advice._

"Alright practice is over. Good job today ladies." Their coach said.

Sakuno took her sweatband off and scanned the grounds. Spotting a familiar black uniform leaning against a wall, she waved at him and rushed inside to change. When she finished, she walked over to Ryoma and bowed. "I'm sorry, we're you waiting long?"

"Not really. You ready to go?" Sakuno nodded and the two of them left the school grounds.

The walk to the park was uneventful. Rather, Sakuno was having flashbacks of the time Ryoma had taken her to get her racket restrung. The silence was deafening. "Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno attempted once again to make small talk with the boy. "How was practice with Tomo-chan today?"

Ryoma fought back a shudder. That girl was enough to grate on anyone's nerves, but he had to admit the part of the evil queen suited her well. "Fine. We're here."

Sakuno looked up the steps and read the sign that indicated they were indeed at the park. Climbing the stairs, the duo stopped when they reached the top. "Where do you want to go?" Sakuno asked quietly.

Scanning the park for an area with as few people as possible, Ryoma found a clump of trees that looked deserted. "Over there." He said pointing.

When they reached the trees, Ryoma and Sakuno set their bags down. In doing so, Ryoma's English book unceremoniously tumbled out. Bending down to pick it up for him, Sakuno found her hand covered by Ryoma's when he bent down to pick it up as well. Feeling the heat rise to her face, Sakuno and Ryoma looked at each other and back at their hands before Sakuno jerked hers away as if the book was on fire. "I-I have to go to the bathroom." Sakuno said quickly. "I'll be right back."

Ryoma watched the girl dash off and glanced at his hand. _She better not get lost._

AN: Bleh, transitional. There will be more mayhem in the next chapter. You can count on it. As always, thanks for reading.


End file.
